1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention described here pertain to the field of computer systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention enable a system and methods for creating and sharing personalized virtual makeovers through the application of virtual cosmetics, hairstyles and accessories to a digital portrait.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtual makeover websites are popular web destinations. Most well-known existing programs allow users to perform basic, though sometimes crude editing of a digital portrait using a graphical user interface to apply colors (“makeup”), cutouts of hair (“hairstyles”), or eyeglasses to the portrait to easily change the appearance, style or “look” of the person in the portrait. However, the technology available to alter portraits in such programs rarely produces a lifelike result (or “look.”) As used here, the term “look,” means the appearance of a person as determined by fashionable or stylistic standards achieved by applications of, including but not limited to: makeup, hairstyle and hair color. Thus, the term “look” is used here as a noun, in the colloquial sense, to describe a person's overall style or appearance. As such, giving the subject of the image a “makeover” would be to graphically edit a digital image to give the subject a “new look.” The term “makeover,” as used here, means an overall beauty treatment involving a person's hairstyle, cosmetics, face paints, tattoos, clothing and jewelry and accessories including glasses, hats, head gear, contact lenses, piercings, for example, intended to change or improve a person's appearance. Creating a “new look” may include changes beyond makeup and hairstyles, such as adding or removing accessories such as color contact lens, eyeglasses, or hats. In some instances changing accessories alone may create a new “look.”
While many sophisticated computer programs exist for digital photograph editing, there is a need for an easy-to-use virtual makeover system and methods that produce a lifelike personalized rendering of an individual using simple, intuitive library of tools and images to provide desirable cosmetics, hairstyles and/or accessories for application to portraits without requiring the user to learn a complex graphic editor application. As used here, the term “lifelike” means “resembling or simulating real life; appearing as in a digital image that has not been retouched or graphically modified; a digital rendition of human face that appears to be of photographic quality; a high fidelity image; realistic in appearance.” The term “photorealistic rendering” or “photorealistic” is used in the general sense of its meaning in computer graphics, typically defined to mean, “[r]endering images so that they closely resemble a photograph; such renderings take into account reflective properties, light sources, illumination, shadows, transparency and mutual illumination.” However, the term photorealistic, as used here, is also used in the sense that is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computer graphics and as such may include but is not limited to that definition.
Existing virtual makeover programs may allow for the application of hairstyles, colors, lipstick, lip liner, teeth whitening, eye shadow, eyeliner, blush, contacts, glasses and headwear to be applied to a digital image. A comprehensive list of such changes, referred to in part as “makeover item(s),” is described below. However, these items may not be properly scaled or warped to conform to the subject of the image.
The makeover items in some existing virtual makeover programs may be applied to photographs that are not brightness/color corrected. Further, generally haphazardly positioned and sized makeover items such as hairstyles are often not blended into the images so that the resulting views are not lifelike or pleasing. Perhaps this is because most known makeover programs and websites do not appear to calculate the precise locations of facial features, their application of cosmetics, styles and accessories to an image is prone to translational and shape errors that are readily apparent to the human eye. In addition, with respect to positioning of cosmetics, hairstyles and accessories on a face in a digital image, these items often overlap existing portions of the face that should not be covered. For example, applying eye shadow in one or more existing makeover websites results in the application of color to the eyebrows since the exact positions of the eyebrows are not calculated.
Most known makeover websites provide the ability to apply cutout overlays of hair to digital images that may not be sized, oriented, automatically aligned, or otherwise adjusted to result in a believable image. Such “cartoon” shape and placement of hairstyles and other makeover items create a false impression and may not create a desire to purchase products. In addition, current programs may not automatically blend or correct for the color, brightness, and other lighting aspects of the original image, nor align the placement of cosmetics, styles and accessories to the face in a digital image. The resulting images from such systems are perceptually altered, appearing unnatural or cartoonish to the human eye and thus are not useful for selecting a makeover look.
Application of accessories, for example, may suffer from the same disadvantages in the prior art as other makeover items. Some programs that attempt to place accessories on a portrait do not produce lifelike shadows, correct lighting color or face angle to the camera, and hence the resulting look may not produce a believable or pleasing image. Application of sunglasses to a face turned slightly in profile in such existing systems, for example, may produce a cardboard-cutout looking rendering where the sunglasses image may not be brightness-corrected to work with the underlying digital image, and as such that the resulting image may not appear lifelike. Similarly, application of other accessories, such as a hat for example, where the hat was photographed under one set of lighting conditions while the portrait was captured under a different set of light conditions may produce a resulting image that appears to have cutout overlays that are not lifelike.
For at least the limitations described above, there is a need for an easy-to-use but sophisticated system and methods for creating and sharing personalized virtual makeovers through the application of virtual cosmetics, hairstyles and accessories to portraits of an individual for entertainment and for commercial purposes.